A New Vault Hunter
by Elemental Hybrid
Summary: Another Vault Hunter has arrived on Pandora. The Crimson Raiders welcome him, despite a few misgivings, but soon discover that their newest member has a penchant for accidental destruction. But why is Gaige acting so strangely around him?
1. Chapter 1

The Vault Hunters stared at Sir Hammerlock, surprised at his announcement. Even Zer0 had an exclamation mark on his faceplate. Eventually, Gaige swallowed and asked, "Are you sure?"

Hammerlock turned to her, smiling, and replied, "Why of course, my dear Gaige. I would not have contacted you all if I had not been certain of the fact that a new Vault Hunter has arrived. In fact, I can tell you a bit about him if you like?"

The Vault Hunters glanced at one another before looking at Hammerlock and nodding. Hammerlock, in turn, cleared his throat and began, "Right then, this is what I know. His name is Gen and-"

"Hold on, amigo. It is a boy named Jen? What do his friends call him? Jenny?" Salvador asked, amused. Gaige leaned forward and slapped him on the back of his head with her organic arm.

"It's G-E-N, Sal. Like next-gen, without the next part." Gaige stated, irritated at the interruption, "Right Hammerlock?"

"Correct, my dear Gaige. He calls himself the Splicer, is a master of corrosive weaponry and uses little else, though I have heard that he uses other weapons. He has many titles, but the three most common are-"

"Splicer, Scientist and Homicidal Maniac." An unknown voice announced proudly from behind the Hunters. They all swung around, weapons drawn to find a strange looking individual examining them from the doorway with a look of amusement. The person in front of them could not have been more than Gaige's age and was about the same height. But the really interesting thing about him was his skin, or rather, the color of it: a uniform shade of light green. He had a shock of shiny, jet black hair and warm, bright orange eyes that sparkled with childish mischief. He wore neon green cargo pants, shiny black boots and a dark green aviator jacket over a black t-shirt with a red and blue double helix on the front. A foot-long, curved blade protruded from within the jacket at about halfway up and on the backward facing sides of each forearm. A pair of goggles with dark green frames and straps and neon green lenses perched on his forehead completed his look.

After a couple of minutes, he cocked his head and scratched the back of his neck.

"Are you guys going to lower those guns or what, 'cause it's bloody freezing out here and I'd rather not be attacked from behind by something nasty." He said, the whole time keeping that amused smirk on his face.

The first to break out of his trance was Mordecai, who holstered his revolver and strode towards the stranger.

"I'm guessing that you're Gen the Splicer?" Mordecai said, half-statement, half-question. At that the stranger's amused smirk transformed into a pleased grin. He nodded his head and said, "Yep, that's me. The one, the only Gen the Splicer." He gave an ironic little bow at the end of his sentence. He gave Bloodwing an impressed look and said, "Nice bird. I always wanted to see one of its kind up close. Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Girl." Mordecai stated simply. Gen nodded and said, "I've always been impressed by this species because they seem to embody my whole goal in life."

Maya's brow furrowed and she asked, "And that goal would be?"

He smiled at her, his eyes briefly flickering to her siren tattoos and back to her face, and said, throwing his arms out, "To become the ultimate survivor. To be able to adapt to a situation. To be perfectly suited to survive whatever is thrown your way." He paused before adding, "And also to be an efficient, vicious and just plain badass killing machine."

Salvador laughed and said, "Amigo you have come to the right place. On Pandora you are either a survivor or poor from the New-U fees and you either kill well or die by the hands of someone who's better. But I think you are admiring the wrong species considering that bird's kind is endangered. If you need some real lessons on survival you can always ask me for tips."

A smirk appeared on Gen's face. "If it's all the same to you, I'll stick to people who are at _least_ the same height as me." He said, studying Salvador's face for a reaction. The Gunzerker scowled, his eyes narrowing.

"Are you looking for a fight, amigo?" Salvador asked, his tone cold.

"Maybe I am. What are you gonna do about it?" Gen replied, still smirking.

Hammerlock gave Gen a hard stare, "Gen, I would strongly advise against this. Your DNA hasn't been scanned into the New-U system yet. If you die you will not be coming back."

Gen shrugged, replying, "What's life without risks." The other Hunters somehow got the feeling that he didn't think this was risky at all, which it was. He was fighting Salvador the Gunzerker for pity's sake. He didn't stand a chance.

Hammerlock sighed and said, "Very well. But I will be watching the fight closely and if I say to stop, it stops, agreed?"

Gen and Salvador nodded and Hammerlock continued, pointing at Gen, "And afterwards we're putting your DNA in the New-U system."

Nobody noticed, but throughout the whole conversation Gaige had remained silent, her brow furrowed as if trying to remember something.


	2. Chapter 2

**I forgot to put this Author's Note at the beginning of the first chapter, so here it is. This is my first ever fanfic. I will be trying to post at least once a week but don't get your hopes up, school is tough this year.** **I really hope you guys liked the first chapter but if you didn't why would you still be reading. Anyway here is Chapter 2.**

**PS: Chapter 1 is called The Splicer**

**Thanks to RinTheWin. I know what you mean; there are too many Siren OCs. I'll keep your thoughts on the outfit in mind but green is Gen's fave colour and I felt like I should emphasize that. I'm glad I nailed the characters' personalities but be warned that they may become a bit OOC later on. I'm thinking of maybe updating Gen's look anyway. Any ideas?**

**GJ115: Good to know I can generate a bit of interest. I will continue.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Borderlands, Bloodwing wouldn't have died and there would be a rocket-firing gatling gun.**

Chapter 2: The Duelist

The Hunters, minus Salvador, and Hammerlock stood just outside of Hammerlock's shack. Maya and Lilith were discussing something and Brick and Mordecai were making bets when Zer0 walked up and said, "Knows what he's doing; The Splicer knows he will win; I will bet on Gen." Axton and Gaige were examining Gen, Axton trying to figure out how he could be so confident and Gaige trying to figure out who he reminded her of, when Gaige suddenly realized something.

"Holy shit! He doesn't even have a shield!" she yelled. Everybody seemed shocked but Zer0, but it was near impossible to tell what his reactions were to anything. Mordecai quickly changed his bet to Salvador. Salvador heard Gaige and grinned.

"This is gonna be the easiest fight ever." He thought smugly. Gen seemed to be fiddling with two black bandoliers that he had slung crossways over his chest to form an "X" shape. They had a round buckle that hung over his chest with another red and blue double helix. Salvador couldn't see what was in the bandoliers but he didn't feel worried. He planned to blast the kid before he could even raise a gun.

Gen took out something from his bandolier and studied it for a moment before putting it back and grabbing another one. He repeated this procedure for a few minutes before apparently finding what he was looking for and keeping it in his hands. He looked up at Hammerlock and gave him a thumb up with his free hand.

Hammerlock cleared his throat and stated, "On the count of three, the fight will begin. One...Two...THREE!"

Instantly Salvador raised two machine guns and opened fire, but Gen was nowhere in sight. A fine trail of fine snow hung in the air, beginning where Gen had been standing and ending behind an ice boulder to the left of Salvador. Suddenly, Salvador jerked to the side, his shield shattering and a cut appearing on his side, and another trail of snow led to an ice boulder on Salvador's right. Gaige looked there and spotted Gen standing behind it, still smiling. He grabbed something from his belt and climbed to the top of the boulder.

"Hey Shorty! Catch!" he yelled lobbing whatever was in his hand at Salvador. The midget simply turned and blasted it, causing it to explode. "You'll have to do better than that, niño." He called mockingly. He looked down as something hit his boot.

"I just did." Gen replied casually. Salvador's eyes widened as he realized that the object at his feet was a grenade. Just as he started jumping it detonated with a flash of light and a strange hissing noise. When the light faded there was a large, rather surprised looking, yellow iguana with blue spines sitting where Salvador had been before the grenade detonated. Gen laughed so hard he fell off the boulder he was standing on and lay, stunned, on the ground for a few seconds before bursting into laughter again.

Zer0 calmly approached Brick and Mordecai, who were slack-jawed at the sight of the iguana, and took the money out of Mordecai's hand. Gen, now recovered from his laughing fit, beckoned to Gaige and started walking towards the iguana, which hissed angrily at him.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm back.**

**AnshinCrimson: Okay, I get it. I overdid the green. I already said that I was going to change the outfit. Chapter 2 was already written and I am just waiting for a plausible reason to change his outfit. I didn't mean to make his abilities like Zer0's, besides there is a valid reason for his speed and colouring.**

**Guardian of all that exists: You don't talk much but you say what you think. I can agree with that. I will write a bit more.**

**Bugger! I think that I'm going to have to move this thing to the M section with some of the language that's gonna end up in here.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Gen and all things to do with him.**

Chapter 3: The Scientist

Gaige was staring at the iguana, still not quite believing that it was Salvador. Gen had said something about a Transmogrification Grenade but she'd been too much in shock at the fact that Salvador had lost to pay attention. They'd had to distract Brick with a lie about there being a litter of skag pups nearby to avoid him charging at Gen and attempting to rip him apart. She wasn't sure if they'd done it for Gen's safety or that of Brick.

Her earlier notion of forgetting something had left her and she now simply watched the iguana in front of her. Suddenly, she decided to test if it really was Salvador. She searched through some of Hammerlock's boxes and found a bottle of tequila. She poured it into a nearby dish and placed it next to the lizard. The iguana bolted up and stuck its whole head into the alcohol, drinking at an insane rate. Gaige chuckled, that was definitely Salvador.

She turned as she heard the door opening and saw Gen trotting in with Hammerlock behind him. The green-skinned boy looked annoyed and seemed to be debating with Hammerlock.

"All I'm saying is what the point of putting me in that system is?" He asked irritably, "I mean, you and me both know that the system might not work for me because-"

He stopped when he realized that everyone was staring at him. He quirked an eyebrow, his gaze hard.

"What? Never seen a guy argue before?" He asked, irritated, in an obvious attempt to lead them away from the topic of his argument.

"We have, we're just wondering what you're arguing about." Axton said bluntly.

Gen rubbed his face and said, "Look, how would you like me to probe into your pasts?"

Nobody answered.

"Exactly as I thought. So stop probing into mine."

"Is that a threat?" Axton asked, eyes narrowing.

Gen gave him a hard look.

"It's a suggestion to preserve your health."

The hostile atmosphere in the room only intensified as Commando and Splicer glared at each other, neither willing to back down. The tension broke when Zer0 stepped between them.

"We cannot fight, We should not question his past, Lest he question ours.'" He stated in his trademark monotone. Axton looked away awkwardly before holding out a hand for Gen to shake. Gen regarded him for a moment. He smiled and slowly shook hands with the Commando, a sign that all was forgiven.

Suddenly, Gen snapped his fingers, a look of realization appearing.

"I just realized," he said slowly, "I should probably give your midget friend the antidote for my grenade."

"His name is Salvador." Maya stated calmly, "I'm Maya. The guy with the bird is Mordecai, the big slab of muscle was Brick, the other Siren is Lilith, the other masked guy is Zer0, your rival over there is Axton and the girl with the mechanical arm is Gaige."

Gen nodded and greeted each person but froze when Maya uttered the last name. He chewed on his lip, a look of deep thought crossing his face. Mordecai eventually walked up and waved his hand in front of Gen's face. This action achieved two things:

1. Gen snapped out of his trance.

2. Mordecai nearly lost his hand when Gen swung one of his arm-blades in a knee-jerk reaction.

There was an awkward moment as everybody stared at Gen, who was blinking as if just waking from a dream. He looked around confusedly before shrugging and trotting towards the iguana that had once been Salvador.

**Read and Review people. I love getting a bit of feedback on my work. Except if it's flames. Flamers are trolls.**

**See ya next time,**

**Elemental Hybrid**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello to the peoples of .**

**My muse is already wandering off. Damn it! Why is this so hard?!**

**Forget about my earlier comment about moving this thing. I don't think I'll swear here too much. (Might have to move it for possible violence, though.)**

**I'm going to have to change my update schedule to random because I just got into big trouble for spending too much time writing and reading FanFiction (among other things that require a computer.) So my updates will be sporadic at best and completely and mind-bogglingly random at worst from now on. On the plus side (for me anyway) that means that if people want to catch new chapters as they come they can't rely on regular updates and must instead rely on Following the story. (Then again they could just do what I did when I didn't have an account and check on the story every now and again.)**

**Where are those bloody reviews people?! I'm starting to think you're not enjoying the story! I won't post the next chapter until I get at least 10 reviews after this is posted!**

**Disclaimer: I'm already getting tired of typing this bloody thing.**

Chapter 4: The Wanted Man

Gen shook his head slightly as the Fast Travel Station rematerialized them in Sanctuary. Maya gave him a questioning look.

He gave her a sheepish smile and said, "I'll never get used to that feeling."

"What feeling?"

"The feeling of being disassembled atom by atom and reassembled somewhere else."

"Hey, niño. Guess what you now have." Salvador called, grinning as he walked up to the pair. The midget seemed to have gained a measure of respect for the green-skinned Splicer after their duel.

"What?" Gen asked, his voice a mixture of curiosity and amusement.

Salvador opened a wanted poster in front of his face and said, "Your very own wanted poster!"

"A wanted poster! Awesome! How much am I worth and what am I charged with?" He asked snatching the poster from Salvador as Mordecai and Zer0 wandered over and Gaige and Lilith appeared at the Fast Travel station. Axton was nowhere to be seen.

Gen read aloud, "Wanted. Gen the Splicer for: Illegal experimentation with hazardous genetic substances, theft of hazardous genetic substances and being overly green."

He stared in confusion at the last charge and had to re-read it a few times to make sure he had actually seen it.

"Seriously? Overly green?" He asked, deadpan, before yelling, "What kind of charge is that?!"

"You gotta admit, they might have a point." Axton said, smirking, as he wandered over from wherever he'd been. Judging by the bottle in his hand, it was probably Moxxi's.

"Don't worry about it," Gaige said cheerfully, "I mean my charges are for the creation of unauthorized technology and excessive adorability."

Gen stared at her.

"Seriously?"

"Yep."

"Do these people have nothing better to do than make up random charges?" he muttered incredulously. He suddenly brightened.

"Hang on. How much is my bounty?"

He read the amount, re-read it and re-read it again before looking up and asking slowly, "Who has the highest bounty here?"

Gaige raised her hand.

"And that bounty would be?"

"$820,000,000,000"

He nodded.

"Not bad, not bad. But not as good as $820,000,000,001!" He exclaimed with a huge smile.

"What?! No way! Let me see that!" Gaige yelled, snatching for the poster. Gen had other ideas though and hopped out the way, waving the now rolled up poster in triumph.

"I have the highest bounty out of all the Vault Hunters!" He yelled ecstatically, still dodging Gaige's attempts to steal the poster. Gaige suddenly ceased her attempts to grab the poster and a disturbing smile graced her features.

"Gen," she called, her voice sickly sweet, "Have you, by any chance, met Deathtrap?"

Gen frowned, noticing the slightly scared and incredulous looks on the faces of the other Vault Hunters (except for Zer0, who had an exclamation), and slowly replied, "No, and I'm not sure I want to."

"Well I think that you should give me the poster unless you really decide that you do."

Gen scowled but relented.

"Fine, fine. Take the poster." He muttered.

Gaige stepped forward and plucked the poster from Gen's grasp.

"I thought you'd see things my way." She said calmly. She unrolled it as Gen turned and began to walk away. She frowned as she read what was written there before she scowled.

"You are such a chump." She read aloud.

"GEN!" she yelled and turned.

The Splicer was halfway down the street and accelerating with every step.

**Yeah, I think this chapter was more filler than anything else. Oh well.**

**Read and Review but, as before, flames are for trolls.**

**Thanks to all the people who actually take the time to leave a review. For pity's sake, over 700 views and only 4 reviews! Come on people!**

**See ya,**

**Elemental Hybrid**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sup peoples.**

**Guardian of all that exists: are you "oohing" at my 10 review thing or the fact that Gen may very well receive a pounding for that little stunt of his or at the fact that I got in trouble for writing all this?**

**Amissproduct54: I'll try, I really will.**

**To the Guest who kindly left a review: Thanks. It's that kind of review that lets me know that I'm doing something right. I'll try and keep this thing up and running but, as I've already mentioned, I'm on thin ice with the whole computer time issue.**

**Bugger it, I can't deprive you guys of chapters and, quite frankly, I just don't care anymore. So I'm dropping the review thing from now on. If I'm gonna write, I might as well write for my own enjoyment as well.**

**I can't believe how long it's been. I hope you guys haven't forgotten about me.**

**Disclaimer: You know the drill.**

Chapter 5: The Perfect Nephew

Gen slowly walked into the lounge area, buckling his belt as he came. Gaige looked up, quirking an eyebrow.

"What's with the sudden change of style?" she asked curiuously, indicating his now brown cargo pants.

"That poster got me thinking, maybe my outfit was a bit too green," he said, shrugging, before gesturing to his new cargos and continuing, "Hence, brown pants."

She smirked at him and asked, "How are you feeling?"

He winced, gingerly rubbing his shoulder before replying, "The bruises will fade. Eventually. With any luck my memories of why there were bruises won't."

"Well, let that be a lesson to you. Don't cross me."

"Lesson learned."

He then wandered over to the fridge and started rummaging through for something edible that didn't look like it used to be human. With Salvador in the same house you never knew what you might eat if you didn't pay attention. He came out with a confused expression on his face and large jar of what appeared to be the acid used in corrosive weaponry.

"Um, why was this in the fridge?" He asked, his tone confused and slightly worried.

Gaige looked up and shrugged.

"I dunno."

Maya walked in in time to see Gen open the jar, sniff and take a large swig of its contents.

"Are you crazy?!" she yelled.

Gen looked at her and seemed to honestly think about it for a moment.

"Maybe a little bit." He replied eventually.

Maya started ushering him towards the door.

"Out. Before you melt all over the floor." She commanded.

Gen simply twisted around her and stated, "I won't melt."

The two females stared at him.

"You just drank acid. You _will_ melt."

No, I won't."

Gaige looked irritated and snapped, "Well if you're so bloody confident about it, would you mind telling us why."

Gen smirked and calmly stated, "I'm 100 percent acid-proof."

"I'm sorry. You're what?" Gaige asked, thrown.

"I'm acid-proof." He repeated, shrugging and taking another swig from the jar in his hand.

Maya shook her head, muttering something about there not being a single normal person on the team, before seeming to remember something.

"Anyway, I came to tell you guys that Tannis has a mission for us."

Gen spat out his mouthful of acid, narrowly missing Gaige who leaped off the now dissolving couch.

"Tannis?! As in _Patricia _ Tannis?!" He exclaimed, ignoring Gaige's outburst about the couch.

Maya gave him a quizzical look.

"Yeah, that's her. Why? Do you know her?"

Gen waved it off.

"I'll tell you later. Let's get going already."

Maya guided them to Tannis' lab, Gaige berating Gen the whole way. When they walked in Gen told the girls to go in first and that he'd be in in a bit.

The mission seemed pretty straight forward. Find some doohickey for Tannis' latest machine and collect some slag if they could along the way. When Gen walked in Tannis paused and examined him.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" she asked, "I feel like I do."

Gen gave a small smile and replied, "I should hope so. I know I look a bit different from the last time you saw me but I would hope you'd recognize your favourite nephew, Aunt Patricia."

Tannis got a huge smile on her face.

"Nephew!" she yelled happily and hugged him.

"Still crazy, huh?" he mouthed to the other Vault Hunters.

Maya nodded.

He sighed and gently prised the insane scientist off of himself.

"So what's the mission?"

**And that is where I'm leaving it for now. I'm a bit put-down about the lack of reviews but on the upside I've decided not to pay attention to that anymore and write for myself. In other words, if you don't like the story then tough shit.**

**See ya,**

**Elemental Hybrid**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sup readers (and, hopefully, reviewers).**

**Kromatick: I'll keep that in mind.**

**Guardian of all that exists: Not helping. Seriously.**

**MecromancerFTW: I'll do my best.**

**Nanashi01: Thanks. I'll try with the whole chapters thing. I honestly have no idea how long this fanfic will be.**

**Antrxx: Um, why would they get along so great? Anyway, I don't know what sort of character Krieg is so it would be bloody hard to write about him. Gen just knows what he can handle and Salvador was judged as something he could handle. I just thought that that was one of the best ways to demonstrate some of Gen's abilities.**

**Guest: I'm guessing that you're the same guest who left the last review about Chapter 5. If so, thanks for continuing to read this and for your words of support. I'm a bit antsy about starting that stage of the story right now.**

**Dan the Guest: Thanks man.**

**A bit of warning, this is mainly filler. I think the next few chapters will sort of explore who Gen is and what he's like. Don't expect me to reveal backstory or anything like that quite yet but still.**

**Disclaimer: Why do we even have to bother with this thing? It's called fan**_**fiction **_** for a reason.**

Chapter 6: The Bomb Maker

The trio staggered in, dishevelled, scorched and bleeding. Maya lay down on the kitchen counter, groaning and mumbling some none-too-pleasant things about Patricia Tannis. Gaige made for the couch, remembered it was melted and simply sat down on the floor. Gen remained standing, albeit swaying slightly.

He held up a hand and slowly said, "I have an idea."

His companions looked at him.

"We never, ever speak of this again. To anyone."

They nodded.

Gen sighed and mumbled, "I'm going to my room."

He passed Axton in the passageway.

Axton stopped him and said, "Geez man, you look like shit. What happened?"

"Don't ask." Gen groaned and trudged down the corridor

Axton watched him as he walked away, wondering what had happened to him. He shrugged and went in search of Maya, whom he hadn't seen all day, to ask where she'd been.

Gen smiled at the welcome cool of his room as he stepped inside, shrugging off his dual bandoliers. He sighed and collapsed on his bed. He was so tired. He knew that if he slept now he'd probably wake up in the night but he didn't care and slowly dozed off.

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Gaige swore as she woke up. She had been dreaming of her workshop at home. Even now she could feel the dream fading from her memory as she threw on her clothes and staggered into the corridor, feeling all of that day's cuts and bruises protesting at her movement. She'd injected herself with an Insta-Heal but it hadn't helped very much. She coughed at the cloud of smoke filling the corridor.

Had they been attacked? Had Hyperion breached Sanctuary? The answer became clear as the smoke thinned to reveal the other Vault Hunters, including a very thoughtful looking Gen, watching as smoke leaked out of Gen's doorway. Gen himself was covered in soot but Gaige couldn't help but notice that he was wearing nothing but his cargo pants and boots, revealing a leanly muscled torso. His goggles, also soot-stained, hung from his hand and he was wearing a carbon-fibre and steel bracer on each arm with a small digistruct module at the point where his armblades originated. There were two almost comical clean patches around his eyes, where his goggles had covered his eyes. She could feel her eyes slowly wandering over his physique and mentally cursed her hormones. However she couldn't quite bring herself to stop. She was startled out her thoughts by Brick's voice.

"What the hell happened?!" He growled at Gen, who didn't seem to hear him.

The Splicer examined the charred, smoldering and, in some places, still burning remnants of his room. He stayed that way for a few minutes before breaking the silence.

"You know what? I think I used a bit too much napalm." He said thoughtfully.

The Hunters stared at him. Gaige swallowed.

"Napalm?" she asked incredulously.

Gen actually jumped at her voice, seeming only then to notice the other Hunters. He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed.

"Yeah, napalm. That's the only reason I can think of. Unless I put said napalm too close to the explosive charge."

"What charge? Charge for what?"

He blinked.

"A bomb. Duh."

Maya pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Of course. Because that's exactly what we need on this team. Another explosives-obsessed loon." She muttered. Gen gave her an offended look, Salvador scowled and Brick growled at the Siren.

**Well, that's that. Like I said: filler chapter.**

**Those little thoughts of Gaige's were for you Guest, whoever you are. Hope you liked.**

**See ya,**

**Elemental Hybrid.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi everybody.**

**Antrxx: Okay, your reasoning makes a whole heap of sense. Maybe I will include him. Of course I'll include Tina. She's practically my favourite character.**

**Guest who calls himself Mr: Your suggestion has been noted but just let the story play out. Also, your welcome and you'll just have to wait and see what happens.**

**I'm really struggling with writing at the moment. I just can't seem to think of any new ideas. My muse has abandoned me to go who-knows-where.**

**Just a little warning, there are some swear words in here so if you're sensitive or just don't like that sort of thing than sorry about that. The swearing may get worse as this fic progresses. Just saying.**

**Sorry I took so long. This chapter was an utter bastard to write.**

**Disclaimer: Not caring anymore.**

Chapter 7: The Historian

"Morning everyone!"

His cheerful greeting earned Gen dirty looks from the other Vault Hunters, who were all seated around the dining table. Brick took it upon himself to fill the silence.

"Fuck off, Grass stain."

Gen actually looked a bit hurt but that expression rapidly transformed into irritation.

"Geez! You ruin one night of their sleep and you'd swear that you'd actually murdered their grandparents with the way they treat you." He muttered, stalking to the fridge and grabbing some breakfast. Zer0 offered him some steak as he went past, which the Splicer gratefully accepted.

"At least you don't hold grudges, Zer0." He said cheerfully, his good mood restored, "I'll be in my room."

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Gaige gently knocked on the door to Gen's new room. Most of his gear had somehow survived what he called the prototype for a Firestorm Grenade and he had simply dumped it in one of the spare rooms. When she received no reply she cautiously opened the door and peeked in, telling herself that if he was getting dressed or something like that she would leave but not quite believing herself.

She saw Gen busy with what appeared to be an entire makeshift laboratory, complete with beakers, test tubes and unidentifiable fluids. His jacket was draped on his bed along with the rest of his stuff. But what she was really paying attention to was the music playing as he worked. He occasionally sang along softly and tapped out the rhythm with whatever he was holding but otherwise seemed to ignore the song. As the music ended, Gaige decided to make her presence known.

"Who was that playing just now?"

Gen jumped about a foot into the air, swearing as something spilled onto the floor. It took him a few seconds to register that it was Gaige at the door.

"Holy shit, Gaige, don't scare me like that." He panted, eyeing the pool of liquid on the floor suspiciously.

"Sorry." She said, shrugging, before gesturing to the liquid and asking, "What is that stuff?"

The liquid was slowly changing colour from its original brown to bright blue. Gen shrugged.

"To be honest with you, I have absolutely no idea. I was just throwing some chemicals together and seeing what happened."

Gaige nodded slowly before remembering her original question.

"So, anyway, who was that playing just now?"

He scratched the back of his neck, a familiar sign of reluctance or embarrassment.

"It's a piece of music that I managed to dig up in an old archive from Earth. It was a cover version of a song called Radioactive that was done by a violinist called Lindsey Stirling and a vocal group called Pentatonix."

Gaige nodded before frowning and asking, "Wait, why were you digging through archives?"

Gen avoided looking her in the eyes when he replied, "I'm a bit of history nut. I like finding out about old cultures and lifestyles."

"So, why are you acting all embarrassed?"

He gave her a wry smile, finally meeting her eyes.

"Think about it: I'm green, smart and interested in history to boot. People just tended to use it as ammunition against me."

"Well don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."

"…Thanks Gaige."

He suddenly stared at the liquid on the floor, which was now a bright red colour and beginning to hiss violently and bubble.

"I think we should get out of here." He said worriedly, the liquid changing to a dark purple colour.

"What about your stuff?"

"It's survived plenty of lab accidents before. I don't expect that to change in the foreseeable future." He said matter-of-factly, ushering Gaige out the door and closing it firmly behind him. A muffled boom came from behind his door. He turned and examined the yellow smoke leaking out from under it.

"…We should probably leave that alone for a while. You wouldn't happen to know any good places to visit for an hour or two, would you?"

She arched an eyebrow.

"You do remember that we're on Pandora, right?"

He nodded.

"So?"

"On Pandora, everywhere is either dangerous or….well actually, everywhere is just dangerous."

"Except here." He said happily.

"Fair point."

He thought for a moment before snapping his fingers.

"I know. Let's visit that bar we saw earlier. Moxxi's, wasn't it?"

"She won't give us anything alcoholic."

He gave her a strange look.

"What's that got to do with it?"

"…Nothing?" she suggested hopefully.

He still looked sceptical so she sighed and muttered, "I just wish everybody would stop treating me like a kid."

Gen nodded sagely before getting a sad look on his face.

"Funny, I keep wishing I was back to being a kid. You know, before all…..this." he said, with a wry smile and a gesture to his green skin. He sighed and muttered, "And now I could seriously kill for a drink or something."

"Why?"

He grinned at her. That same infectious, happy, mildly crazy grin.

"I've heard it helps you forget that anything is wrong."

He slung an arm around her shoulders.

"Now, onwards!"

"To where?"

"I have absolutely no idea but I'd rather not be here when the others find out that I've trashed _another_ room."

**So, what did you think? Read and Review people. I'm getting a bit worried about my lack of reviews.**

**The song and cover actually do exist. I suggest checking them out, the original for the fact that the person who thought it up must have been high when doing so and the cover because it's awesome.**

**This is the longest chapter I've written so far. Awesome.**

**Would anyone like to try and draw Gen for me? You would be credited in the story and I will post the link somewhere on either my profile or this story. You can draw him fighting, working in his lab or just chilling, whatever you choose. Please PM me or leave a review if you're interested.**

**Until next time,**

**Elemental Hybrid**


	8. Chapter 8

**I love this. My muse has returned and I've got ideas for future chapters from it. Woohoo!**

**xX Ivy Xx D: Thanks for the praise, I love getting reviews and I'm glad you like it. You'll just have to read and see what happens next, now won't you?**

**Guardian of all that exists: Good to hear from you again, even if you are as cryptic as ever. Glad that you continue to take an interest in my work.**

**A heartfelt thanks to all those people who have Followed and Favourited "A New Vault Hunter". You people are awesome.**

**Disclaimer: Prepare yourself.**

Chapter 8: The Conversationalist

"I don't know what you're complaining about, Gaige, this stuff isn't half bad." Gen said, sipping at the fizzy liquid in his cup, chair leaning on its back legs and feet on the table. The two were hiding out in Moxxi's bar, or rather, Gen was hiding and had dragged Gaige along for the ride. She shrugged.

"It's okay, I guess." She murmured reluctantly. Gen cocked his head at her tone. He brought his feet and gave Gen a concerned look.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked.

She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"A girl can't just not like her drink?" She asked playfully. At that he grinned and leant back, propping his feet back up on the table.

"Phew. For a second I was worried you weren't enjoying my company." He joked. She rolled her eyes at him, causing him to grin in reply. His eyes suddenly darted over her shoulder and he groaned.

"Don't look now, but somebody's built up enough liquid courage to try and make a move on you." He said, acting as if he hadn't noticed the person. Gaige looked over her shoulder. The man in question, though he looked barely older than her, gave what he probably thought was an alluring smirk. Gaige just raised an eyebrow and looked away. Gen muttered a curse under his breath and said, "Great. Now you've encouraged him."

A few seconds later, the man appeared at their table, positioning himself between the two Vault Hunters and pulling that same expression at Gaige. She suppressed a shudder as his eyes ran up and down her body.

"Hey babe, why don't you ditch this freak-show and come sit with some real men?" he said, his breath stinking of what Gaige recognised from her time with Mordecai as rakk ale.

She gave him a sweet smile and said brightly, "Well if you find any, be sure to tell me and I might consider moving."

She turned back towards Gen. "Where were we?"

"Fuck you! Anyone ever mistake you for a robot, bitch?!" the drunk snarled. Gaige saw Gen digistruct a revolver and hold it in his lap.

"Anyone ever mistaken you for a man?" She retorted, smirking and not even glancing at him. The other patrons, who had taken a keen interest in the exchange, roared with laughter as the drunk turned bright red. Gen was chuckling quietly as he raised his glass for another sip. The man swung towards him, thinking him an easier target than Gaige.

"What about you, asshole? You some kind of experiment?"

"You could say that." Gen replied amicably, smiling over his glass. The man went even redder, this time with anger.

"Fuck you!" he yelled, shoving Gen's shoulder, causing some of his drink to spill on his shirt. Gen looked down at his now wet t-shirt. He looked up at the drunk, expression serious.

"Don't do that again or I'll hurt you."

"Don't do what? This?" the drunk growled, moving to shove Gen's shoulder again. There was a flicker of movement and the drunk collapsed, screaming, to the ground, his hand cleanly severed at the wrist by one of Gen's armblades.

"Uh, uh, uh." Gen tutted, pointing his revolver at the drunk's companions who had risen to their feet, hands reaching for weapons. The Splicer swallowed the last of his drink and carefully set his glass down on the table before reaching down and hauling the still screaming drunk up by his stump. The man suddenly went silent as Gen placed his revolver against his crotch. The green-skinned Vault Hunter nodded towards Gaige. "You insulted my friend. Say sorry."

The drunk craned his neck around to look at Gaige and whimpered a soft "I'm sorry."

Gen nodded, a pleased expression on his face, and said, "Very good. Now maybe this will make you think with your head a bit more often instead of your dick." He then pulled the revolver's trigger and let the man collapse back onto the ground, clutching at the bloody remains of his manhood. The Splicer tossed the hand over to the drunk's companions.

"If you hurry, Zed might be able to reattach that." He said helpfully before continuing in a hard tone, "Now get out before I start chopping things off of _you_."

The two hurriedly dragged the now unconscious drunk out of the bar.

"Impressive." A sultry voice purred from behind Gen.

He tilted his head back until he could see Moxxi's face, a grin plastered on his own. "Sorry about the mess, Moxxi."

She shrugged and replied, "It happens, Hon'. At least you didn't kill him."

"He's just lucky that my revolver didn't decide to activate its elemental effect."

Moxxi looked up and asked quietly, "You wouldn't happen to be hiding from the other members of your little gang, would you Sugar?"

"As a matter of fact we are. Why?"

"The short one is standing in the door and he looks far too pleased to see you two."

Gen and Gaige slowly turned to look at the doorway. Indeed, as Moxxi had said, Salvador was standing there with an evil grin on his face. Gen was sizing him up, hand already reaching for his speed formula, when Maya appeared in the doorway as well. Gen jabbed the needle into his arm and said, "Time to go, Gaige."

She shot him a dirty look and asked irritably, "Why do you insist on dragging me down with you?"

"One: this whole mess is partially your fault for making me spill the chemicals. Two: I like having someone to talk to who isn't either me or imaginary."

Gaige groaned and whined, "Can't I just stay here?"

Gen grinned and replied, "Nope."

Everything seemed to happen very quickly to Gaige after that. She saw Maya raise her arm, tattoos beginning to glow, and vaguely registered Gen's now empty chair lifting into the air. Then she felt somebody pick her up and the landscape blurred as Gen ran straight out of the other entrance to Moxxi's bar, narrowly avoiding a collision with Axton and Lilith, the former of which swore and took a swing at Gen as he went past and the latter who simply watched them go impassively.

Gen came to a halt at the Fast Travel station, gently setting Gaige down to work the machine. He tied a dark green bandana with a fanged, skeletal jaw design on the front over his mouth and nose and snapped his goggles over his eyes. He held a black bandana out to Gaige.

"If you're coming, you might want to put this and your goggles on."

She snorted. "So now I have a choice all of a sudden?"

She got the feeling that he was grinning under his bandana when he replied. "Sure you do. The others are pissed off enough without you telling them that I kidnapped you or something."

She raised an eyebrow at him. He shrugged and said, "I'm just thinking of all the possibilities. Now are you coming or not?"

She tied the bandana over her face and asked, "Where are _we_ heading?"

"Atta girl. The Dust is our destination."

"Then what are we standing around here for?" she joked, reaching past him and pressing the button that would take them to the Dust.

**So, how'd I do? This is the longest chapter so far, 1213 words of story. That's got to be a good sign for my writing.**

**Read and Review, I love getting Reviews. Except if they're flames because flamers are trolls. Legitimate criticism only.**

**My offer still stands for somebody to draw Gen. Once again, if you're interested PM me or leave a review and I'll do my very best to get back to you.**

**C'ya**

**Elemental Hybrid.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello to all my readers, new and old.**

**Saddle: You wouldn't happen to be saddlecreeperz, the creator of the masterpiece that is Love on A Place like Pandora, would you? I'm glad that you like Gen and that you agree with my shipping. Do you really think that my chapters are short? Do you know anyone who could draw Gen for me?**

**Antrxx: I agree, Lindsey Stirling is awesome. His experiments are pretty dangerous, I guess. You'll just have to wait and see, now won't you? I just figured that the mask was a pretty logical thing. I mean, I'm sure Gen wouldn't want to suck dust as he runs.**

**xX Ivy XxD: Thanks for your continued support, I appreciate it.**

**Izzy26: Thank you. I'll keep posting.**

**My exams are coming up so I probably won't be able to post again for a while. My parents would kill me if they knew I was typing this up now.**

**Disclaimer: Everything will look brown for a while.**

Chapter 9: The Happy Camper

"Ahhh, The Dust. A place where you can find all of about 50 shades of brown, three quarters of which you've made up or imagined out of boredom." Gen said happily as he dropped down on the metal bed Gaige was currently using as a seat. She rolled her eyes at him.

"It was your idea to come here."

"I know. Who said I was the bored one? Plenty of bandits to fight, loot to grab and a plentiful supply of furniture to make this place even better." He said, gesturing to their accommodations, a large cave they'd had to liberate from the hands of bandits. It had turned out to be a large supply cache and Gen and Gaige had spent the rest of the first day sorting through the guns, grenade mods, rations and shields looking for anything useful. Gen had spent their second day there rigging up a rudimentary trap system. When Gaige had asked about it he had said that it involved "lots and lots of dangerous and quite possibly illegal chemicals."

They were on to day five with no sign of the others.

"You know, I don't think they're even bothering to look for us." Gen said. Gaige looked at him sceptically.

"Why do you say that?" she asked, looking back to the circuit board she was working on for Deathtrap.

"Well for starters we haven't seen hide nor hair of them for five days, and two I think they don't think they'd want to find us."

She gave him a sharp look.

"Okay, okay, maybe they just don't want to find me." He said, placating, hands held up in a gesture of surrender.

"Why wouldn't they want to find you?"

"Think about it. If I'm out here, then that means that there's less risk of another room getting blown apart in one of my experiments."

"…True."

Gen's ECHO started beeping. He pulled it off his belt and checked it, allowing a large grin to spread over his features.

"What's up?" Gaige asked, peering over his shoulder.

"It's an alarm I rigged up to warn us if anyone was entering the cave." He replied, trying to ignore how her breath tickled his ear and sent a slight shiver up his spine.

"Okay, so why are you grinning like that?"

"I set up a series of microphones and cameras to watch my traps at work and make sure that nothing made it through."

"…You're kind of messed up, you know that right?"

"Yep." He said without even a hint of hesitation or offense. He switched on the cameras for the first stretch of tunnel and his face fell. "Fuck."

"What?"

He wordlessly showed her the image on his ECHO, which showed Salvador, Zer0, Axton and Maya moving down the tunnel. He took it back after a few seconds and grinned when there was a scream.

"Who was that?" Gaige asked casually.

"Some bandit that followed them in. He ran right into the Acid Pit trap I set up." Gen crowed, fist pumping into the air.

After a few minutes the two runaways could hear the voices of their comrades approaching. Gen stood up, winked at Gaige and jogged out of the room. He had only just vanished into another section of their subterranean temporary home when the other Vault Hunters walked in, guns ready.

"These bandits must be pretty smart to have rigged up all those traps." Axton was saying as he walked.

Maya nodded and said, "Yeah. Did anybody else notice that pretty much every trap back there was corrosive-based?"

"Indeed it is strange; Perhaps a cult has started; And this is their base." Zer0 murmured his voice quiet as usual.

"Or this is where Gen and I have been staying for the last five days." Gaige called out. She had to duck as Salvador opened fire out of reflex with two machine guns. When he realised it was her he stopped firing and gave her a slightly sheepish apology.

"If this is where you two have been staying, then where is that little grass-stain? I got a few things to say to him." Axton growled.

"I kind of hoped that you would have forgiven me by now, Axton." Gen's voice came from all around them, disorientating everyone except Gaige, who had seen Gen setting up the hidden speakers two days ago.

"Come out so we can talk amigo." Salvador called out in a friendly tone, which was at odds with the two machine guns still in his hands.

"Not until you guys promise not to attack me. I mean, for pity's sake, it's been _five _days! Haven't you people ever heard of forgive and forget."

The other Vault Hunters grudgingly promised that they wouldn't attack him.

"Good. Now, not that I don't trust you but I don't, you're going to say that if you should happen to break that promise I can have a portion of all your loot for the next two days."

The others clearly didn't like that idea, judging by all the shouting.

"Okay, okay, fine. You can keep all your loot. But if you attack me, don't expect me not to get revenge."

Gen walked out of the tunnel the others had appeared from earlier. He was holding a dismembered skag head in his hands as he snuck up behind Axton. He raised the head to be about eye level with the Commando before yelling, "Hey guys!"

They all swung around, Axton nearly falling over as he stumbled away from the skag head right in front of his face. Gen cackled and dropped the head. He stopped laughing when Axton levelled a shotgun at him.

"There's lots of loot here. Too much to carry in one trip." Gaige was telling the others, ignoring the tense staring match that had developed nearby.

"Well then, let's get started." Salvador said, clapping his meaty hands together in anticipation. They all ignored the gunshot and Gen yelling, "You missed."

**So, how did I do? Read and Review, people, Read and Review.**

**Antrxx: don't worry, you'll find out Gen's favourite ride at some point.**

**I'm thinking of doing a bit more character development for Gen next chapter or the chapter after. Anyone interested by that? It may get a bit angsty though, so watch out.**

**Until next time,**

**Elemental Hybrid**


	10. Chapter 10

**Here it is folks, the next chapter for ANVH.**

**I know I was talking about angsty character development in the last chapter but I felt like doing something funny first.**

**Don Socrates: I'll try but as my profile says "All good things must come to an end."**

**MecromancerFTW: I think that you may enjoy this chapter.**

**Phaedrolous: Chill, dude. You'll just have to wait and see.**

**Antrxx: Could be worse, dude.**

**Zero612: Your review contains probably one of the best descriptions of Gen's personality yet. For those who are curious here's the review:**

"**A well made original character? chock-full of equal parts scientific**

**intelligence, sadistic insanity and childish mischief? Oh my this will be a**

**verrrry fun story."**

**Disclaimer: What…the fuck…just happened?**

Chapter 10: The Coffee Shunner

"Axton, you know that he asked us specifically not to."

"What the kid doesn't know won't hurt him or, more importantly, me."

Gaige blocked Axton's path down the stairs, a stern look on her face. "You are not spiking Gen's drink with coffee. Remember when he first came to live with us."

FLASHBACK

"I have only two requests," Gen said, holding up two fingers, "One: Don't touch my lab equipment. Two: Never, ever, _ever_ give me coffee. Ever."

END FLASHBACK

Axton shrugged. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"He could have an allergic reaction to the coffee and die." Gaige exclaimed.

"Awww, how cute. The girl is worrying about her crush." Axton mocked, smirking.

"Whuh…I don't….we're just….Shut up Axton." Gaige growled. The Commando smirked and walked past her, heading for the lounge area. The other Vault Hunters, minus Salvador who'd vanished earlier, were gathered there when they walked in.

"Here you go, guys, drinks for all." The others eagerly reached for their respective drinks except for Zer0, who didn't seem to ever need food or drink, and Gen, who was distracted by a small vial in his hand whose contents were starting to glow ominously. "Hey, are you going to drink or what, kid?"

Gen waved a hand at him dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. One sec." he murmured, examining the contents of the vial.

Gaige shot its contents a worried look. "Uhh, Gen. What is that?"

Gen shrugged. "I dunno." He said and tossed it over his shoulder as turned towards the others. There was a loud bang from where the vial had landed. They all turned and saw a meter-wide, smoking crater in the floor where the vial had landed. "Oops."

The others shrugged, already used to Gen's mildly destructive nature. Axton could now find his way blindfolded down the hallway without tripping in any of the craters left by one of Gen's experiments, Zer0 had learned to ignore Gen cursing followed by explosions when he was doing whatever it was he was busy with, Maya hadn't been disturbed since she'd threatened to Phaselock Gen if he ever woke her up in the middle of the night again and Salvador could sleep through a heated fire fight anyway.

Gen reached for his drink, eyes never leaving the crater in case the vial had had or was going to have another reaction. He cautiously sipped it and froze, eyes widening in what appeared to be horror. He shot up and threw the mug away with a look of mild panic on his face.

"What's up with you?" Maya asked, raising an eyebrow at Gen's odder than usual behaviour.

"Who put coffee in my drink?!" he yelled, ignoring the Siren. Gaige immediately pointed at Axton. As Axton was opening his mouth to deny the accusation Gen suddenly went rigid.

"You guys might want to hide." He muttered before collapsing in a heap on the floor. Seconds later he was up again, an overly large and insane grin on his face. His form seemed slightly blurred to the others and it took them a few seconds, time enough for Gen to get a dangerously crazy glint in his eyes, to figure out that the Splicer was literally vibrating on the spot. Suddenly, the subject of their collective worries zipped into the kitchen. The Vault Hunters were exchanging worried looks and Gaige was starting to back away towards the relative safety of her room when Gen yelled, "Axton, I'm going to reverse the gravitational polarity of the toaster!"

"Wha-" Axton started to turn, just in time to be hit in the side of the head by said toaster, which Gen had thrown with pinpoint accuracy. It was almost comical that as the appliance impacted upon Axton's head; two slices of toast shot out and landed on the table. After that all hell broke loose. Gaige turned and darted into her room, slamming the door shut and locking it behind her. She winced at every crash, smash and bang she heard, wondering just how annoyed Roland, Mordecai, Brick and especially Lilith were going to be when they got back.

"Gen, cut it out right now or so help me-" Maya never finished her threat, her voice suddenly cutting off. A few minutes later Gaige heard something heavy land on the roof and decided that really, _really_ didn't want to know. She stiffened when she heard something, presumably Gen, go past her room at high speed and then again a few minutes later.

She actually shuddered when she heard Gen yell the words, "Pink ninja!" followed by loud splashing noises, interspersed with a few crashes and bangs. Then, everything went quiet, scarily so. Gaige slowly stood up and hesitantly approached the door, placing her ear against it to listen for anyone waiting for her on the other side.

"What are you listening for?" Gen whispered from _right behind her._ Gaige shrieked and swung around to find him standing there, his face barely an inch away from hers. She once again cursed her hormones as she felt a blush build up on her face. Gen suddenly blurred and moved to the centre of the room, hands behind his back, and it was only then that Gaige began wondering something.

"How the hell did you get in her?"

"Window." Gen said simply, pointing.

"But it's barred….." Gaige trailed off as she noticed that all the bars around the window, as well as the window itself, had been melted off. She turned back to Gen to find that he was now holding a hammer in one hand and a bag of nails in the other. Her eyes widened and she shook her head. Gen got that crazy grin from before and nodded. The Mechromancer turned and bolted for her door but hadn't taken even two steps when she felt a blow on the back of her head and everything went dark.

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Gaige woke up and the first thing she noticed was that her head hurt. A _lot._

"Definitely the hammer." She murmured, guessing that Gen had made use of the construction tool to knock her out cold. She then noticed that all her possessions and furniture appeared to be on the roof. She wasn't quite sure how Gen could have accomplished that with such a small bag of nails but she didn't really care. The third thing, which only occurred to her about a minute later, was that her shirt seemed to be riding up. This led her to another, rather important realisation. It wasn't the room that was upside down; it was her. She immediately reached down (or was it up?) to push her denim skirt into place, blushing red and hoping nobody had walked past her room recently. The door appeared to have been knocked right out of its frame and lay in the hallway.

She heard somebody groan and a few moments later staggering footsteps getting closer. Gen suddenly appeared in her doorway, staggering slightly when his hand found empty air instead of a wall and holding his head.

"Fuck. My. Life." Gen groaned before suddenly seeming to notice her. "Need some help Gaige?"

She shook her head, face going even redder, if that was possible. Gen seemed confused for a moment before a look of realisation appeared, along with his own blush; which turned his cheeks an interesting brownish-red colour.

"Oh…uh…right. I'll go and…uh…get Maya." He mumbled, embarrassed.

"Thanks." She said quietly, equally embarrassed. Gen gave her a small smile and walked off, still holding his head and occasionally cursing when he stumbled. He made it to the lounge, or rather, the remains of the lounge. The couch appeared to have been split in half, the table was in pieces, there were large chunks of the walls on the floor and large, pink splash marks on the walls with a human shaped clean patch in a few of them. The room's only other occupants were Axton, who was trying to simultaneously hold an icepack to his head and scrape something out of his boot, Salvador, who was trying to clean his gun, which seemed to have been filled with something brown and slightly moist, while muttering curses in Spanish, and Zer0, whose entire suit had been covered in bright pink paint.

"What the fuck happened to you guys?" Gen asked curiously. Axton grunted, Salvador shot him a dark look and Zer0 gave a :( emoticon on his faceplate.

"You know exactly what happened, amigo." Salvador sneered, "Why don't _you_ fill _me_ in."

"What the hell are you talking about? And can you please keep the noise down. I swear, I haven't had a headache this bad since some douche bag slipped me coffee..." Gen trailed off, a look of realisation on his face. He rounded on the others, glaring. "Who put coffee in my drink?" he snarled. Zer0 pointed at Axton. Gen pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Next thing you know, somebody'll be touching my lab equipment." He muttered. He raised his head and said, "I assume that I am responsible for all of this mess."

"You don't remember?" Axton asked sceptically.

"Nope. One of the side-effects of coffee on my system is memory loss from a few minutes before it entered my system to when I wake up with a massive headache." Gen said, followed by a groan as another wave of pain hit him. "By the way, have you guys seen Maya?"

They all shook their heads. "Haven't seen her since you knocked me out with the toaster."

Gen shot him a dumbfounded look. "Since I what?"

"You threw the toaster; It was a perfect headshot; A true sight to see." Zer0 said quietly, never breaking haiku.

Gen shook his head, instantly regretting it when the motion sent another wave of pain lancing into his skull. "Anyway," he groaned, "have you tried calling her ECHO?"

Zer0 shook his head, answering for all three of them. Gen pulled out his ECHO and tried to contact Maya's. The signal was excellent, which probably meant that she was close.

"This is Maya."

"Hey there, Maya. What horrible torture did I inflict on you during my coffee-induced rampage?" Gen asked.

"You glued me to one of our Technicals."

"Where are you?"

"On the roof."

"But I thought you said that I had...Oh. All the way onto the roof, huh?"

"Mm-hm. Can you hurry up and get me down from here already."

"Sure thing. I'll be up in a few." Gen promised, hanging up. He turned to the others. "Okay, so I hit you with the toaster," he said pointing at Axton, "and painted Zer0 bright pink. What did I do to you, Sal?"

"As far as I can tell," the Gunzerker said, "you filled my gun with chocolate mousse."

"You also filled my boots with noodles." Axton said.

Gen seemed confused. "Where the hell did I get chocolate mousse and noodles from?"

His question was destined to go unanswered, because at that moment a very angry Brick charged in. His burning gaze found the Splicer, who immediately wished that he could remember what he'd done wrong. Judging by Brick's face, it was pretty bad.

"Now, Brick, I know you're mad but let's not do anything hasty, huh?" Gen said, backing away from the enraged Beserker, "What exactly did I do to you?"

Brick swung around, lifting up the back of his vest as he did so. There, in incredible detail on his back, was a tattoo of two skag pups in a boot.

"Well, shit."

As if things couldn't get much worse for the poor Splicer, Lilith chose that moment to walk in. Strangely, she seemed completely calm at the sight of Gen. "Hey Gen." She greeted.

"…Hey, Lilith. Didn't I do something horrible to you?"

"No, you just chased me around Sanctuary for half an hour trying to hit me with one of the Xs from Moxxi's sign."

Gen cringed and asked, "She mad about that?"

"Actually, she said that any drinks you want for the next week are on her for the entertainment."

"What entertainment?"

"Something about you running in and knocking Brick unconscious so you could put a tattoo on his back." The red head seemed only then to notice the Beserker and his new body art. "Ooooh, that's what she was talking about."

"Yeah, well I've gotta go get Maya off the roof, so ciao."

"Hang on, what did you do to Gaige?" Axton asked curiously.

"I nailed her to the ceiling."

Salvador leered at that comment, which confused the Splicer. "What's with that loo- Oh you dirty bastard! No! Hammer and nails!"

"Is that what they're calling it nowadays?" Axton joked, enjoying teasing Gen.

"Fuck you Axton! You're just sad 'cause you never get any." The Splicer just made it out of the door in time to avoid the first salvo from Axton's turret.

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About ten minutes later, after Maya had been removed from the Technical, she was busy helping Gaige get off of the ceiling. She'd decided to simply unlace the boots and catch the girl as she fell.

"I can understand why you didn't want Gen to help you get down." She said understandingly, "I mean, I wouldn't want any crush of mine practically staring at my panties or anything."

Gaige's mouth opened to protest but at that moment Maya finished unlacing the second boot and Phaselocked the Mechromancer to stop her hitting the floor. She dropped the Phaselock and helped Gaige up. Gen poked his head in, hand over his eyes. "Is it safe to look?" He asked cautiously.

"Yeah, go ahead." Maya said.

Gen smiled and held up a new pair of boots for Gaige. "Thought you might need another pair." He said sheepishly. Gaige smiled and thanked him.

"Any idea where Roland or Mordecai are?" Maya asked.

"Roland: no, Mordecai: yes. I dumped him in a convoy carrying rakk ale. He seemed quite happy when we managed to make contact with him, offered me some target practice with him."

"You just gave him more rakk ale than is probably healthy, no wonder he's thankful."

Suddenly, their ECHOs came to life. "This is Roland to any Vault Hunters who can hear me, is anyone there?"

"Hiya Roland. What did I do to_ you_?" Gen asked cheerfully.

"I'm in my underwear, tied up and on top of the Z in Zed's sign."

"Yeah, well, Lilith can deal with it. I'm exhausted from today. I think I'll get an early night." Gen said, yawning and switching his ECHO off before Roland could reply.

"That sounds like a plan." Gaige said, stretching, also ignoring Roland's unfortunate situation, "I could use a good night's sleep after today."

"Well then, g'night you two." Gen said, waving and walking off.

"Night Gen." Gaige said. Maya walked out to tell the others where Roland was and Gaige curled up in bed, fully clothed since her door hadn't been fixed. She'd have to fix that at some point.

**2495 words baby! WOO-HOO! Longest chapter so far! Don't start to expect this length since I'm not even sure how this one ended up so long. I'm not so happy with the ending, it just seems a bit forced but I couldn't figure out how to end it.**

**Give praise to the amazing Red Velvet Fox for her drawing of Gen. The link is on my profile so take a look when you get the chance.**

**Read and Review, people. I love finding new review and PM notifications in my email so please send me more.**

**Until next time,**

**Elemental Hybrid**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry I've been gone so long. I had this chapter written on paper but didn't get round to typing it up until a bit later.  
**

**Guardian of all that exists: I'm not even sure what to say anymore.**

**Antrxx: That is a singularly terrifying notion.**

**Prophet21: Glad that you think so. I actually had plans to do just that later on.**

**Don Socrates: That was the goal. Glad you liked it.**

**Infinitexephos: Thanks. Your review is what got me typing this baby up.**

**Right, so this chapter will be quite a bit shorter than the last one; not even 1000 words. It's going to reveal a bit about Gen's past. The beginning is inspired by a picture I found on a trawl through the internet.**

**Also, I'd like to introduce my readers to my good friend Infinitexephos. He's busy writing his first fanfic and, despite the chapters being short, it's actually really good. I advise you check it out. The link is in my profile, near the bottom.**

**Disclaimer: I got nothing.**

Chapter 11: The Reject

Gaige stared at the small picture in her hand. It showed her dad holding her when she was about four years old. She kept it inside a circular locket without a chain that she always carried with her. She started and snapped the locket closed when she felt a heavy hand land on her shoulder. Axton came around the counter and into view holding a mug of hot cocoa out to the red head. The Mechromancer slowly reached out and took the cocoa from him in stunned silence.

She suddenly felt tears start to form as the gesture brought back memories of her dad. She remembered all the times that he had brought her hot cocoa when she worked late on Deathtrap. She bowed her head slightly and gently placed the cocoa on the counter behind her as the first tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"Gaige? Are you okay?" The Commando asked, shocked by his teammate's reaction. His shock only increased when she swung around and started crying into his shirt. A look of sympathy appeared on his face as he remembered the picture that she had been looking at when he'd shown up and he gently hugged the crying girl.

At about that time, Gen poked his head through the doorway curiously. He had been looking for Gaige in the hopes that she could help him with his latest project. He felt a sharp stab of jealousy when he saw the Commando hugging her but he dispelled the emotion with a quick shake of his head. It was only then that he realised that she was crying.

"Besides," he thought, "Axton is _way_ too into Maya to even think about anyone else." The Splicer lightly tapped his knuckles against the door frame and asked, "Are you guys okay?"

Gaige moved away from Axton but otherwise gave no response. The green-skinned Vault Hunter sighed and made his way over to her. He sat down next to her on the counter. "Come on, Gaige. You can tell me. Me and Axton, we're your friends. And I'll be damned if I let a friend suffer without trying to help them. Now, what's wrong?"

She sniffed and he gently placed a hand under her chin, lifting her gaze to meet his. She felt surprised at the mixture of warmth, tenderness and concern visible in his fiery eyes and felt her own eyes fill with tears again. She threw her arms around him and started crying into his shoulder. Gen's eyes widened and he looked at Axton. The Commando shrugged in reply. Gen sighed and tentatively hugged the crying Mechromancer, slowly whispering comforting words to her.

Eventually, he pulled away from her and asked, "Now, once again, what's bothering you?"

"It's just…the cocoa….my dad…" Gaige mumbled. Gen nodded slowly.

"I get it. Homesickness. I can't say that I know how you feel but I can make a pretty good guess." He said sympathetically.

Gaige sniffed and asked, "What do you mean? You come from somewhere, don't you?"

"So? Doesn't mean I have to miss the place." Gen replied, his voice slightly bitter.

"What about your parents?" Axton asked.

Gen snorted and growled, "If I never see those fuckers again it'll be too soon."

His teammates stared him with matching looks of shock. This was a totally new side to the normally easy-going Splicer. Gen sighed and said, "Look, my home life was never great. I was the disappointment of the family because of my interest in genetics. Hell, the only reason I didn't run away sooner was because I felt like I needed to look out for my sister."

He fished around in his shirt and pulled out his own small locket, a silver square on a thick chain. He opened it and pulled out a heavily folded photo. He unfolded it to reveal a picture of four people; a man with short, dark brown hair and severe green eyes behind glasses, a tall, pale, thin woman with long, blond hair and brown eyes, a boy with spiky blond hair, pale skin and bright blue eyes and a little girl with a slightly darker skin tone, brown curls and green eyes. The man had a completely neutral look on his face and the woman had a small, obviously forced smile on her face. The two children were grinning genuinely at the camera and had their arms wrapped around each other.

"That's my dad," Gen said, pointing to the man then shifting their attention to the woman and saying, "and that is my mom."

"And that's you, right?" Gaige asked, pointing at the boy.

"Yep, and, in case you haven't already guessed, the girl is my little sister, Sarah." Gen said, smiling fondly at the girl in the picture. He swallowed and, with his smile fading, said, "It was her who convinced me to run away from home."

"Why?" Gaige asked quietly.

"Because she was the only one who cared about what happened to me." He replied just as quietly, eyes suspiciously wet. He sniffed and gave a shaky laugh. "Great. I came in her to try and cheer you up and instead told you one of the most depressing the things I can think of." He said, wiping his eyes with is sleeve and slipping the locket inside his shirt.

Axton patted his back gently and Gaige rested a hand on his shoulder. Gen smiled gratefully and rested a hand on top of hers. He looked around and suddenly noticed the mug of cocoa behind Gaige. His brow furrowed in confusion.

"Axton."

"Yeah?"

"Where the hell did you get hot cocoa from?"

**I couldn't help but throw something slightly funny at the end. Anyway, what did you guys think? Read and Review people.**

**I plan to develop Gen's backstory in a later chapter. Depending on how I'm feeling, it might just be the next chapter.**

**Until next time,**

**Elemental Hybrid**


	12. Chapter 12

**Heya folks!**

**Guardian of all that exists: Thanks for the PM. I never thought that you needed help; I just found your review style to be a bit different. Still, it's good to know that you like my story.**

**Infinitexephos: No problem. Anything for a friend.**

**Antrxx: I must admit your review did make me smile.**

**Don Socrates: I'm glad you liked it. I don't know why, but I seem to have an aversion to characters that have had an easy life. A lot of my OCs that I have thought up over time start off all happy but end up getting dark pasts. It's weird.**

**Sunshine Muncher: Glad that you like it. My humour may be a bit lacking in a few chapters though, usually ones that involve Gen's past.**

**Ulquioraschiferfan: Glad you like it.**

**Sorry if you've all been missing me, but my holiday was super packed, school has started again and I've been busy with my new DeviantArt account.**

**This chapter is not a direct continuation of the last one, but it (and the next chapter) will set the scene for it.**

**Disclaimer: Colour schemes…..**

Chapter 12: The Fashion Guru

Gaige gently knocked on a certain, green-skinned Vault Hunter's door. Ever since he'd opened up to her and Axton about his past, she'd been wondering exactly what his parents could have done to turn him so against them. She also couldn't deny that it had touched her that Gen was willing to trust them with the sort of knowledge he had originally denied them upon their first meeting. When she got no answer from within the room after a few minutes, she frowned and gently pushed the door open to find the room empty.

She slowly made her way into the kitchen area and found the other Vault Hunters, sans the object of her search, sitting around the room.

"Hey, has anyone seen Gen?" She asked curiously, unsure if anyone would be able to help her. With his speed, Gen could be kilometres away by the time someone had told her where they had seen him.

"He was asking where the Quick Change station was earlier." Axton supplied helpfully, "Not sure where he is now."

Even as he finished saying it, the door flew open and a familiar gust of wind hit the Vault Hunters. When it had died down, at which point the room's occupants opened their eyes, Gen was rummaging through the fridge. "Sup peoples."

"Since you don't seem to have changed your look at all, I'm gonna assume that you didn't find a good style at the Quick Change."

"Nope, I just didn't find the Quick Change."

Their jaws dropped. "How can you not find the Quick Change station?! It's practically right at our front door!" Maya exclaimed. The Splicer shrugged and started gnawing at a cold steak.

"I'm directionally challenged." He suggested casually.

"No you aren't," Gaige said, "You found your way around the Dust without any trouble after looking at your map once."

"Hmmmm. I have a short attention span sometimes?"

"You can focus for hours on your experiments."

"I said sometimes."

The Mechromancer rolled her eyes before remembering why she'd been looking for him. "Didn't you say that you wanted my help with some project of yours the other day?"

The Splicer thought for a second, a grilled skag leg in his hand, before saying, "Oh yeah, I need your help with some programming. I'm not very good at it and I figured that, you know, since you built a whole fucking robot you might be."

"Well you came to the right woman of science and ass kickery." She replied smugly, crossing her arms, "Just so you know, though, my services don't come cheap."

Gen opened his mouth.

"You could make a joke; But your silence is better; Or there will be pain." Zer0 said. Gen closed his mouth hurriedly and Gaige gave the Assassin a confused look before realisation dawned and she glared at Gen, who was studiously avoiding her gaze. After a full minute of awkward silence, Gen met her eyes with a hopeful grin.

"Could you show me where the Quick Change station is?" he asked, hoping to avoid her pounding him into the ground. He still remembered the last time that he had annoyed her and didn't want a repeat of that particular scenario.

"No."

"Pleeeeeeease?"

"No." She repeated irritation evident in her voice.

"…I'll buy you a new gun." He offered in a sing song voice.

Her eyes narrowed and when she spoke suspicion was heavy in her voice. "Any particular make?"

"Uhh, Dahl?" He suggested hopefully. She turned away. Gen sighed and started listing off the manufacturers.

"Tourge?"

"No."

"Jakobs?"

"Tempting, but no."

"Hyperion?" he asked, desperation seeping into his voice.

"Nope."

"Maliwan?" He asked, his tone making it clear that he'd seen it coming but had tried to avoid it. She smiled.

"Come on, the Quick Change, and Marcus Munitions, awaits." She said cheerfully, grabbing his arm and all but dragging him out of Raider's HQ.

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"Nope. Nope. No. Definitely not. No." Gen murmured as he worked his way through the disappointingly short list of outfits on the Quick Change station. Gaige was leaning against the wall and admiring her new shock SMG. She glanced up as Gen sighed and turned away from the Quick Change.

"Nothing you liked?" She asked, noting his unchanged appearance.

"There's barely anything on there and none of it's even halfway decent."

"You know, if you want more options you just have to pick up those 'skins' things that are all over the place."

"What do they look like?"

"Kinda like the Runner skin mods that we find, just without the steering wheel."

"You mean like this?" Gen asked, holding up a mod.

"Yeah that's it."

"I wondered what these things are." He muttered before asking in a louder tone, "So how do they work?"

"Just use your ECHO to activate it and it'll be available in the Quick Change."

"Got it." He said, bringing up his ECHO screen. Half a minute later, he was done and reactivated the Quick Change. Gaige went back to examining her new weapon as Gen resumed his inspection of the various outfits. After about a minute Gen said, "Hey Gaige?"

"Yeah?" she replied, not looking up.

"Does the Quick Change usually change your entire outfit?"

"Yeah, otherwise the colour scheme doesn't work."

"No, I mean does it usually give you an entirely new set of clothes?"

"No, wh-" she stopped mid-sentence as she saw what Gen was talking about. In place of his usual ensemble, Gen was wearing a black vest with his trademark double helix running in a big loop from just above his left hip to his right shoulder and then back down again to connect back at the beginning. A single bandolier stocked with syringes ran perpendicular to the design. His cargos had changed to a green camo pattern while his boots remained unchanged. His goggles now had black frames and straps and reflective orange lenses. The bracers for his armblades now had a steel plate on top of each of them and a small plate of the same material adorned the back of each of the fingerless gloves that had appeared on his hands. The Splicer examined his new clothes and grinned.

"I like it." He said finally.

Gaige didn't reply. She was staring at the dark green tribal pattern tattoos on Gens arms. "Weird." She murmured.

"What is?" Gen asked, confused. Gaige started as she realised that she'd said it out loud.

"It's just, the Quick Change doesn't usually give new outfits and it's even weirder that it's now giving tattoos."

"Huh?" Gen asked confused before realising what she was referring to. "Oh no, these aren't from the Quick Change. I had them done a few months after I ran away."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

There was an awkward silence for a few minutes before Gen suddenly perked up and asked, "So, do you want to get a new style?"

She shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"

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Gen sighed for the tenth time in two minutes. "Are you nearly done yet?"

"No." Gaige replied. Her companion huffed. A few minutes later Gaige asked, "What do you think of this one?"

Gen looked up to find that she had selected the Horned Child head.

"Gaige, I promise you that if you take that head I will shoot you." He said completely deadpan. She stuck out her tongue at him and went back to looking through the heads available.

"Look, I'm gonna head back to HQ and work on one of my little side projects. When you're done would you come find me so I can show you what I need help with?" Gen said after several minutes.

"Sure." Gaige said distractedly. Gen smiled and walked away.

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Gen sat at the kitchen counter, a welding mask over his face as he used a blowtorch to slowly join the two halves of the device's casing into a single solid shell. The other Crimson Raiders had barred his room when he'd told them that he had something he wanted to work on, claiming that they'd feel better if they could see what he was working on. He'd told them that if they had a line of sight then they were probably in the blast radius. It had turned out to be the wrong choice of words. He paused and idly reached down to the metal band that had been fastened around his ankle, scratching at the itch that was building up around it. A thick chain ran from the band to other rings attached to various things, including the fridge, his chair, the table he was working at and Brick's wrist. For a while he'd amused himself by tugging the chain whenever Brick brought his hand close to his face, thereby causing the Beserker to hit himself in the face. He'd stopped when Brick had threatened to pull back hard enough to rip the Splicer's leg off. Now he was working on the physical side of the project he needed Gaige's help for.

"Hey everybody. What do you think of the new look?" Gaige called. Gen heard the others murmur approvingly. "Aww, thanks. To be honest it was a choice between this and Bandit Blood and Rust."

"Shoulda gone for the other one." Brick rumbled.

"Hey Gen, don't you want to see my new outfit?" she called to the Splicer, who hadn't looked up from his welding.

"One sec. If I get this wrong we can kiss the kitchen, and very likely a large portion of the HQ, goodbye." He replied. A few seconds later he switched off the blowtorch and sat up, stretching as he did so. He turned in his chair and flipped his mask up to see everyone else looking at him expectantly. His eyes found Gaige and his jaw dropped.

"Woah, what outfit is that?" He asked incredulously.

"The hat's called Read All About It and the skin is called Clashing Colours." She replied, grinning at his reaction.

Gen could feel a blush rising towards his cheeks and hurriedly flipped the welder mask down in an attempt to hide it. He didn't notice Salvador sneaking up behind him though. The Gunzerker grabbed the mask and pulled it off his head to reveal Gen's face.

"Now, now, amigo, you can't hide behind this." Salvador teased. Gen scowled at him. His form blurred slightly and then he was gone.

"Wait a second. What about the chain?" Maya asked after a few seconds. They all went to examine the chain and found that it had been melted.

"The little bugger must have had some of that acid with him." Axton suggested. Everybody froze as they heard a clinking noise behind them. In unison they all turned around to find Gen holding several metal rings similar to the one that had been around his ankle.

"Your turn." Gen said, an evil smile gracing his features, before darting forward and slapping a band around each Vault Hunter's ankle or wrist and then chaining the remainder to various heavy items around the HQ. He surveyed his handiwork with a smile before turning to Gaige, whom he'd left unchained, and saying, "Anyway, now that that's over with, let me show you what I need help with."

**Well there you have it folks, Chapter 12. Sorry if it's not as good as previous chapters but I was struggling a bit with this one.**

**Read and Review.**

**Ciao for now,**

**Elemental Hybrid**


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